As a new comedy night launches in Cardiff this week, Dave Owens hears from the Irish comic hoping to prove that laughter really is the best medicine

IT WAS an impromptu gig that led to Irishman Charlie Smith setting up a comedy night at new venue Porters in Cardiff.

The city centre bar in Bute Terrace, opened by actor Dan Porter and director David Wilson, has gained something of a reputation as a hive of activity for the arts community after its launch in November.

And it was at a music open mic night that the comic from County Mayo made his first foray onto the Porters stage.

“I went along with some friends. Some one asked me to go up and do 10 minutes. So I did,” he recalls.

“And luckily everyone loved it which was great. Talking to the owners later we started discussing starting a regular comedy night there.

“This was just before Christmas. We talked it through and I started looking into how we could stage it and how the space could be used.”

According to Charlie, the venue is ideal for comedy.

“They have a lovely big corner stage; when they were renovating the place they took down half of the wall and revealed brickwork and it actually gives the venue the look of a New York comedy club with the exposed brick. It also has a red curtain as well so it’s a lovely venue for comedy.”

Launching the club this Wednesday, Comedy Den at Porters will take its place alongside a number of thriving comedy clubs in the city. Nights include Funny People at 10 Feet Tall, Vagabond at Gwdihw, The Promised Laugh at The Promised Land, Drones at Chapter Arts Centre and of course The Glee Club in Cardiff Bay.

With so much competition around it was imperative that the comic, who is studying performance at the University Of Glamorgan, chose his night carefully.

“Finding a suitable day is so important. I’ve run a number of nights before and you can see which days are the busy ones and, and of course, you don’t want to clash with other comedy nights.

“We decided the second Wednesday of the month would be ideal, especially for students, because, being in the middle of the week, it tends to be a good night to go out.

“Hopefully we’ll get a good crowd as it’s away from all the hectic stuff that’s happening on weekends.”

Given its location near to the Atrium, University Of Glamorgan’s School of Creative and Cultural Industries, there is sure to be a strong student turn out for the first show.

“The majority would be students I guess, however from performing around Cardiff at other nights you do see regular faces in the crowd who turn up and go along to virtually every night,” says Charlie.

The first show will see him compere a strong line up that includes Show Me The Funny runner-up Dan Mitchell with excellent support from talented Welsh stand-ups Paul James, Robin Morgan and Mathew Heard.

This impressive bill is a sure sign of how vibrant Welsh comedy and the local scene in particular is right now.

“When I came over from Ireland three years ago to study at the University of Glamorgan, the comedy scene was healthy but it has definitely grown.

“A lot more people are getting into it.

“Competitions like the Welsh Unsigned Stand Up Award (WUSA) have helped raised the profile. It’s fantastic now with some great nights.

“Everyone is hugely supportive of each other. It’s like an extended family actually. We all look out for each other.”

For the future the comedian, a semi-finalist in last year’s WUSA, is taking his first show to Edinburgh this August and will also be taking another tilt at the Welsh Unsigned Stand Up Award title.

He also tells me he’d like to develop his stand-up and branch into script-writing.

“I was never the archetypal class clown when I was younger,” he says. “I just loved to write. I think it comes from being allowed into pubs in the west of Ireland and hearing all these stories being spun.

IT’S that time of year again. The point at which the Welsh Unsigned Stand Up Award begins its annual search for the best comedy talent in Wales.

With the first heat for this year’s competition being held at Chapter Arts Centre in Cardiff on March 18, applications are now open for this year’s event.

Not only will the winner scoop £1,000 but they also receive a paid weekend at The Glee Club in Cardiff and they have the opportunity to perform alongside some of the best comics in the world at the Wales Millennium Centre as part of the Grand Gala closing night of the Cardiff Comedy Festival,

Welsh Unsigned Stand-Up Award organiser, Scott Fitzgerald, who is also the man behind the Cardiff Comedy Festival, says the WUSA (as it’s known in its abbreviated form) throws a spotlight on the diversity of comedy talent we have in this country.

"Absolutely, every year it gets better and better," he confirms. "The basis of the competition is for someone who should be professional who is ready to take that next step up and we just give them a helping hand."

Scott also believes the competition is a great opportunity for the general public to witness the Welsh comedy stars of tomorrow.

"Comedy in Wales will only progress if it gets the support of the general public," he states. "It all depends on audience members. If they turn up and support local comedy, then that’s how people will progress and that’s how we will get ourselves an even stronger comedy circuit."